Men's basketball: CU Buffs expecting rocking Allen Fieldhouse

Colorado visits No. 9 Kansas

By Ryan Thorburn Buffzone.com

Posted:
12/07/2012 06:30:14 PM MST

Updated:
12/07/2012 06:30:33 PM MST

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- No hard feelings.

Kansas head coach Bill Self, who insists he will not reschedule heated Border War rival Missouri now that the Tigers are in the SEC, doesn't blame the Buffs for roaming out of the Big 12 and into the Pac-12.

"I have no ill will at all toward Colorado," Self told the Kansas City Star. "They left the league because they had to. With the league potentially breaking up, they had to jump and take what was available. So we certainly understand that."

The Buffs (7-1) are looking to snap a 28-game losing streak in Lawrence that dates back to a 75-74 win on Feb. 10, 1983.

Tad Boyle, then a sophomore at KU, was on the losing end that day.

CU is 39-122 all-time against the Jayhawks, including a 5-52 record at "The Phog." KU won the final 18 meetings as conference foes.

Self's team has won 25 consecutive home games, tied for the longest active streak in the nation, while the Buffs are 0-1 in true road games this season (lost 76-69 at Wyoming last Saturday).

"It's going to make Wyoming look like a cakewalk in terms of the atmosphere, the number of people and the decibel level," Boyle said of Saturday's challenge in front of the 183rd consecutive sellout at Allen Fieldhouse. "We're going to have to grow up. Kansas is top ten and they're a good basketball team, a good program. It's a big opportunity."

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The Buffs will have an opportunity to host KU next season at the Coors Events Center.

"It's such a good game for fans that can't see us play in Allen Fieldhouse, that live in the western part of the state," Self said of the home-and-home non-conference series with CU.

Actually, things have changed dramatically on the hardwood in Boulder since KU's last visit.

Only a handful of Colorado State fans were able to find tickets to Wednesday's game, a 70-61 CU victory in front of a record crowd of 11,708.

Boyle challenged his fan base to keep the KU out in the 2013 rematch after signing the deal in May. Prior to CU's recent success, the Coors Events Center was typically only at capacity when the Jayhawks and their rabid fan base came to town.

"I've heard historically that they called it Allen Fieldhouse West," CU sophomore guard Spencer Dinwiddie said after scoring a career-high 29 points in the victory over CSU. "I heard how they would invade our arena and make it a tough place for us to play in our own stadium. So even though I wasn't a part of that, I take offense to it because this is my school."

The C-Unit won't be able to turn Allen Fieldhouse into Coors Events Center East. But CU did sell out its small allotment of 300 tickets for Saturday's game.

"I know we're not going to outnumber them at their spot. I mean, it's a historic venue," Dinwiddie said. "But I want that support to be shown and for the program to continue to gain traction on a national level. And for everyone to see we have a fan base that is willing to travel and support us like all the other schools that are doing good things with their programs."

The noise from the rafters won't drown out the legendary Rock Chalk chant. Only a rare CU victory at Allen Fieldhouse can mute the Big 12 favorite Jayhawks (6-1).

"It's going to be a tough atmosphere, just like Colorado," forward Andre Roberson said. "They really feed off their crowd, just like us. When they get rocking and rolling, they're hard to stop, especially in their building.

"I don't know what it is when you go in there, but it's just a tough place to play."

Follow Ryan on Twitter: @RyanThorburn

SATURDAY: The Colorado Buffaloes (7-1) will venture back into Big 12 territory to play the No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks (6-1) at noon at Allen Fieldhouse.

BROADCAST: Television on ESPN2 with Carter Blackburn (play-by-play) and Fran Fraschilla (analyst). Radio on KOA (850 AM) with Mark Johnson (play-by-play) and Chad Brown (color). Follow on Twitter: @RyanThorburn.

CU STORY LINES: The Buffs are coming off a 70-61 victory over Colorado State on Wednesday night in front of a record crowd of 11,708 at the Coors Events Center. ... Spencer Dinwiddie led the way with a career-high 29 points. The sophomore point guard is the first CU player to produce three consecutive 20-point scoring games since Alec Burks (five in a row) did it the last five games of the 2010-11 season. ... The Buffs are 1-0 against former Big 12 rivals this season having beaten Baylor in the semifinals at the Charleston Classic last month. ... CU is 7-1 for the first time since 2005-06 when the Buffs started 10-1, won 20 games and went to the NIT under Ricardo Patton. ... CU is 4-0 at home, 3-0 on a neutral court and 0-1 on the road this season.

KU STORY LINES: The Jayhawks are coming off an 84-78 win against Oregon State in a game played at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. ... KU is already 2-0 against Pac-12 teams this season having also defeated Washington State (78-41). The Jayhawks have won their last 10 matchups with teams currently in the Pac-12. ... KU leads the nation in blocks per game (9.3). ... The Jayhawks are averaging 71.3 points per game and giving up 58.9 points per game. ... KU's streak of regular-season Big 12 titles is at eight. ... KU's 25-game home winning streak is tied for the nation's longest.

KEY STATS: The Buffs have lost 28 consecutive games in Lawrence and have not won at Allen Fieldhouse since Feb. 10, 1983 (75-74). Tad Boyle was a sophomore at KU that season. ... Overall, KU has won the last 18 meetings in the series with CU's last victory occurring on Jan. 22, 2003 (60-59 in Boulder).

COACHES: Tad Boyle is 55-27 in his third season at CU. Bill Self is 275-54 in his 10th season at KU.

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